[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

It was not necessarily customary for someone in a high position to drop off the final round of pay for a shinobi who had retired from the service. Tomomi decides that she'll make an exception in this case, though. It is, after all, rare for a shinobi to move from serving so directly under the Hokage to working as an apprentice to the sage. An interesting career path for sure. And Tomomi, for all their neutrality, can't help feeling a bit bad for her. Even if this is the path she chose, it must feel a bit lonely. To be away from coworkers, off in the woods.

So she's stopping by to pay a visit. She comes, of course, with a small envelope containing Inari's final paycheck. She may've secreted some of her own pay into it. Any change of job leads to financial uncertainty, so hopefully that will help. In the other hand, she comes bearing a small basket of flowers from the Yamanaka shop. Sunflowers and small daisies, a common arrangement for people hoping to wish others well. They're perseverant and encouraging flowers, though the local flower language also includes a small note of "I hope you recover" in them as well, given their connection to the sun, good health, and longevity.

She uses her mind's eye to help find Inari, pinging a familiar chakra signature on her radar, while the young ex-shinobi is outside for some fresh air.

"Good afternoon," she calls, from some distance, hoping she won't alarm Inari too much with her sudden presence.

[Kimura Inari]

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Ooh, baby, it's a long way
down to the bottom of the river

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Inari was seldomly home anymore. It was likely not such a change to what it had been before. The girl spent more days surrounded by the heavy scent of the deeper forest. Some would say it was a damp and boring place, but… Inari had found she had only fallen more in love with it than she already had been. The way the forest survived by having decomposition aid in new growth. Death led to life. Life led to death. Slowly it seemed she recognized minor paths where she had only seen the dense collection of tree trunks and low hanging branches, brambles and other wild plants seeking to hinder your advance. [break][break]
Most favourite, though, was the open plains with sun and long grass she could run her fingers through as she wandered. It was only every now and then she managed to feel a hint of the life force she had felt in the stone statue cemetery with the sage. [break][break]
But she understood why it was there. Everything had a breath. The earth, the plants, the wise trees which had seen decades pass.
Few people ever came out here, so when a greeting was called out, it pulled the redhead from her thoughts and she shifted enough in her seat to lose some of her balance and she would slide off the rock she had been meditating on while enjoying the feel of the sun on her face. She used her hand to break her minor fall and she was back to her feet quick enough. She lacked the vitality she had had when they last had met though. It showed in her face, the way she had donned warmer clothing to protect against the winds. [break][break]
"Tomomi! How good to see you, what brings you out here?”[break][break]
Granted they were not far from the village or its training grounds, so it was no unlikely for them to simply happen upon each other.

[break][break]

[attr="class","dijitalccredit"]✭ dijit

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

Oops, it seems she'd startled Inari more than she had intended to. Inari hops back up quick enough, but Tomomi still feels a bit guilty about it, with the way she moves so tiredly. Too much sympathy is indistinguishable from pity, so she's quick to smother to feeling. At least none of that showed on her face. She approaches, through the warm and sunny field, feeling the cool wind. It's a very nice day. She can see how Inari would get so caught up in relishing it.

"I thought I would come pay you a visit. See how you were adapting to your new situation and all." She holds out the envelope she brought with her, carefully sealed. It's similar to the kind of envelope one gives monetary gifts in for holidays, but much more plain, with only the small printed symbol of Konoha on its back.

"I also needed to bring you this. The last bit of money you earned from being on the Hokage's payroll. There's still more in terms of benefits for you after retirement, but this is the last formal pay, at least."

Once those are passed over, she holds out the flowers she's brought. "And I wanted to ask if you would accept these."

[Kimura Inari]

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Ooh, baby, it's a long way
down to the bottom of the river

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Red hair was caught by the wind for a moment, but it would be pulled back and over one shoulder to keep it in place as shades of mocha and caramel sought out the blonde’s gaze. Inari couldn’t say she was not surprised to see this particular individual here, the gift they bore only cause for more interest as she was sure the blonde assistant had enough work on their plate and delivering simple things like this to retired shinobi was likely not at the top of their agenda. Soft hands would reach out to receive the envelope as a smile formed on her lips. [break][break]
And a basket. [break][break]
Surprise would be the first thing she felt, her eyes growing wider, but then her heart swelled and one of those bright smiles she used to wear all the time almost made her cheeks hurt. Sunflowers were happy flowers. At least they were to Inari. She accepted it and had she not had hands full she would likely have given the other a hug. She would settle on something more formal though. [break][break]
"Thank you.” A bow accompanied it, the envelope held to where her heart was as she did. Regardless of why the other had come there was a difference in station and rank. It was a service which Inari was grateful for but also knew was entirely performed of the blonde’s own choice. Once she was up from the formal gesture she locked eyes with the assistant. [break][break]
"I’m doing well, spending my days like this for the most part. I have managed to see some of my friends as well. Though I have to admit it is growing a tad boring at times, so I have taken up polishing my genjutsu skills.”[break][break]
It was far from illegal for her to do so, but… It still felt as if it was something she was not entirely supposed to be doing. The fact that Kazui had agreed to help her likely stemmed more from their friendship than any sense of duty to aid a fellow shinobi in their quest for excellence. [break][break]
Inari’s attention would turn to the flower basket once more and she would admire the soft petals a moment before she looked to Tomomi. [break][break]
"They are beautiful, thank you so much! Do you have time for a cup of tea? My treat of course.”[break][break]
It seemed to be an appropriate thank you - if the blonde had time of course.

[break][break]

[attr="class","dijitalccredit"]✭ dijit

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

"Continuing to hone your skill is a great way to pass the time and remain sharp," Tomomi agrees. A person couldn't dedicate so much of their life to training a particular skill only to fully abandon it. Well, they could, but it usually lead to a deeper sadness.

The same way there were musicians who lost a hand and learned to adapt their play style, so too could there be shinobis who retired and continued to train. Though it seemed odd, there are plenty of people who learn chakra-based techniques for reasons beyond being shinobi. Travelling performers, some wandering clans, many of the Yuie in Amegakure. Genjutsu is a tricky one to put to use outside the shinobi line of work, but still, it means Inari will be ready if a threat comes.

Uncontrolled chakra lessons do make Tomomi uneasy, but in the way most things make Tomomi uneasy, prone to subtle paranoia as they are. Their job iss to have such hesitation, to ensure the protection of the people in the village. It is easy enough to snuff out here. Inari is a good person and she's sure there is no threat in her continuing to practice those talents she used to help Konoha.

Deciding to think less troublesome thoughts, Tomomi focuses again on the flowers as well, glad Inari likes them.

"Thank you," Tomomi says. "They come from the family flower shop. And I would be glad to stay for a cup of tea." She made certain all her important work was done before she made her way out here anticipating just such a possibility.

[Kimura Inari]

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Tomomi accepted and she smiled, she did a small move which could only be described as a small excited wiggle and then she started to walk back towards the village. It was not so far and if they walked it would certainly be no trouble for Inari. Her mocha brown eyes took in the land as they went. Even if these parts had been walked and explored by the young woman till the areas had no more to offer, no secrets - except for the best kept ones.  [break][break]
"How is everything? I heard there was something going on with the exams? Though it might have been blown out of proportion..."[break][break]

The news said many things. Rumors shared at the dinner table and in her sister's shop weren't the most reliable sources of intel. Of course, it was not certain Tomomi at all felt it was appropriate to discuss such a thing with her. She was retired after all. Though she always had an ear to the ground when it came to matters dealing with Yukigakure and a certain Hyuuga. And she dearly hopd Tomomi could ease her worries by denying the rumors about his fate. [break][break]

Slowly they would return to civilization and after that reaching Inari's favorite teashop was easy! It was a small place, but they had quality wares and Inari always received a nice little deal on tea and treats because her sister helped provide them for the shop.  

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Inari + tag

made by gimmick

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The walk back would be nice on such a calm day, with the wind breezing by lightly. This time of year the air did get a little chilly, with the air coming in from the sea, but it hadn't gotten too bad yet. Chillier days were sure to come, but the land of fire was lucky in its warmth. Despite this, the conversation shifted somewhere chillier.

That much wasn't surprising. Tomomi wasn't privy to documentation on ANBU missions, so she didn't have an exact recount of who had been involved in the troublesome mission to Yukigakure, but she knew that Yusaku had gone missing, and she knew that Inari had been a member of ANBU. It was no surprise she would know about it and would have the subject on her mind with the recent broiling tensions between the two nations. The truth of the matter was that Tomomi had no idea how Yusaku faired. The most he knew as the Hokage's Assistant was that Niko had denied the proposal offered to her, and Yusaku was unlikely to be returned in a decent state.

"There was a small matter of conflict in Byakuya during the Chuunin exams," Tomomi explained. "A spar between one of our shinobi and the Mizukage. An unfortunate occurrence. The shinobi in question is locked up for now, but there were mixed reports on who initiated the conflict. Not many eyewitnesses, unfortunately." They wouldn't go into too much detail, because it was never an idea to give so much to anyone. It was nothing against Inari personally.

It wouldn't do to worry her about potential wars on the horizon.

[Kimura Inari]

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The reply she received was much as she expected. She had to shake it. It would do her no good to linger on the past like this. Even if there was something coming, she was a civilian. A civilian with a special skill set, but a civilian nonetheless. The doors and information channels from before were now closed to her - except for the sources she had used in her work in the past as they were unlikely to know much about her retirement. Inari nodded softly, "hmm, hopefully nothing will come of it." [break][break]

War was such a dreadful thing. Even if it was only between villages and not entire nations, it was... Nothing but destruction.[break][break]
They would arrive at the teahouse, Inari donning a smile and pushed through the door, holding it open for Tomomi. "Here we are." She would continue on to find a table in the corner, placing herself in the seat against the wall. The place was made up of greens and soft cream colors. A server was with them within seconds. "Oh hey Ryu! Can I get a cup of jasmine tea? " The man nodded with a smile and turned to Tomomi. "And what for you, dear? " He dotted down the orders and returned to the kitchen, to get started on it and within minutes they would be served their tea with a small plate of treats too.

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Inari + Tomomi

made by gimmick

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The tea shop was lovely, not a place Tomomi had bothered to visit before. When asked their order, they answered, "Sencha, please." A rather neutral and boring order, but in their opinion, it was a common favorite for a reason. It was perfect for this time of day as well. They accepted the tea gratefully when it was brought back and took a moment to enjoy the warm drink and snacks before returning to conversation.

Would Inari want to remain on the subject of international concerns? It was fully possible, but Tomomi wouldn't stray too much towards those subjects herself. They interested her immensely, of course, as it was part of her line of work to be engaged in such matters, but it wasn't "polite" conversation, so to speak. No reason to dwell if the other conversational partner didn't steer the conversation that way.

"How has your training with Arimura Kasumi been going?" She inquired. Tomomi still had not met the woman herself.

[Kimura Inari]

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Inari thanked Ryu and grasped the teacup with both hands, firmly at first and then a bit more gentle and hesitant as the heat was still very much there but Inari didn't fancy letting go of the cup entirely. Part of the experience was the warmth of the teacup. At least to Inari. She would break off a piece of one of the snack and munch on it, before ever so slightly pushing the plate towards Tomomi. [break][break]

"Weird. But I can't say I don't agree with most of her points. Nature needs guardians, helpers, and in turn, it helps us." She shrugged. In truth, her teacher had not done much teaching beyond telling her to feel and to connect with nature. Which was... Well, it was rather hard considering how she was a powerhouse of chakra and all she could do was direct it. Her gaze went from her swirling tea to Tomomi. Tomomi was a puppet user, right? If her memory hadn't failed her at least. [break][break]

"You are trained in the art of puppetry and sensory right? Have you ever felt the chakra in the earth, trees, grass, all around you?"[break][break]
Perhaps she could deduce something from it, it all those trained in sensory could see such a world. The world of powerful chakra - of life- she had felt in the stone-figurine graveyard. Either way, she would need to find the sage soon. Just to see if she had anything else for Inari to do. After all, she had not made much progress, but she had not had many lessons yet either and sometimes, when she was most hopeful, she grew impatient. For how did she know if nature would aid her? Or if she was simply chasing fairytales and the musings of a mad forest dweller...

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Inari + Tomomi

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

An interesting question. Tomomi was not only a puppeteer and a sensor, but a Yamanaka. All of her abilities relied upon the extension of chakra away from the self, into the outside world. Synchronizing with her surroundings and feeling her environment was important to her abilities, to her method of approach to all situations. Yet she'd never been particularly close to the earth. She held the ability to control multiple elements, yet never felt closer to them than non-elemental jutsu. Her powers were always closer to the human element specifically, though she could control animals as well. Was the ability to control the same as understanding?

"I have, at times," Tomomi said, after some careful consideration. When she felt outwards with her chakra using the mind's eye, she could feel, softly, the environment. "Because of my family hijutsu and my puppetry techniques, I have a finger on the pulse of animal life, but the chakra nature holds is such a different beast. It's like hearing a whisper in a foreign language. You may be able to pick up some things from context, but most of it is so unfamiliar as to be noise. You still know it is there, though. Everything has a life and therefor everything has a power."

She looked over at the window, at a small flowerbox placed carefully outside. She thought of her family's flower shop and then of the plants in the wilds.

"You know, most of the plants we produce for our food or for decorative flowers in shops have been bred to have smaller roots. It makes them easier, more manageable, if they only extend a few inches down. In the wild they'll have feet of roots, all mingling together. Plants support and maintain one another, even across different species. They share their energy in that way. It's like the plants are the chakra system of the earth itself."

[Kimura Inari]

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Inari blew on the hot tea, as she listened to the Yamanaka as they spoke. It was an interesting take on the idea of chakra and life force. Chakra was woven into the very fabric of the world and all that resided in it. The analogy to flowers and their roots was quite interesting. They helped each other, sustained each other. Was that what her teacher was going to be attempting to achieve with her? It would certainly explain the whole 'postponing' thing she had mentioned. [break][break]

"Hmm, that actually makes sense. Because all this time it has felt as if I'm trying to understand something foreign and strange. Something I am not quite meant to be able to understand... Like another language, as you say."[break][break]

It was far from easy. It took time. It demanded concentration. Sometimes Inari found herself floating away in a daydream, a certain blonde from Kusagakure made many appearances and by the time she had withdrawn herself from the daydream she would have lost the connection and the focus she had had on the energy, on nature. She sipped at the tea, her mocha hues drifting to the pretty gift the assistant had brought her. Hopefully, she had not been modified to have shorter roots as the Yamanaka flowers and as such would be unable to connect to nature and its gifts... She zoned out for a moment, but brought herself back and refocused on the Yamanaka.[break][break]
"Any exciting plans for the week?"

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Inari + Tomomi

made by gimmick

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

Tomomi wondered if Inari was the type to daydream very often. She never had been herself. Always one to focus on firmer realities. Still, a mental wandering might lend itself better to a connection as free as to that of the natural chakra. It wasn't the same as an elemental nature. It was opening yourself up to forces beyond yourself. Having a mind which journeyed probably made one better suited.

The conversation drifted somewhere new, but that was probably all for the best. She doubted she would have anything more helpful to say about the subject of nature, given her lack of experience with the sage arts.

"Oh, none in particular," she said. "I've been about as busy as usual with paperwork." Perhaps slightly more than before, even. Small political drama tended to create massive waves in work to be done. "I may even end up working through the weekend," she sighed. Such was the nature of the job. "If I'm lucky, I may even get around to designing and starting to work on some more puppets."

"How about you? Do you have any exciting plans for this week?"

[Kimura Inari]

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”We kind of married our work when we signed up, didn’t we? Pretty amazing when you think about it… Barely out of diapers and then we commit to a career path.”[break][break]
It was likely a bit of a skewed world they lived and grew up in, but Inari wouldn’t have picked any other life if she could. Shinobi did great things for the nation. Kept the people safe. They did some horrible things as well, but they had to live with it, had to trust that the village equipped them with the tools to handle it. Something she had found it didn’t, grinding her unending trust down to something far more fragile. [break][break]
Inari sipped at her tea, looking out of the nearest window. [break][break]
"I don’t have much planned, I might meet up with my colleague...? There is another apprentice, however, I have yet to meet him. I take it pretty easy at the moment, day by day mostly.”[break][break]
There were still days where she didn’t get much done, but the upside of being drugged up and resting meant she had more time to just exist and feel. Prod at the world around her with her chakra. Even if it was just flares of chakra sent out as she would when utilizing genjutsu affecting a wider area. Her mocha eyes returned to the blonde. [break][break]
"What kind of death traps are you working on? I have never really seen a puppet close up besides when it is about to skewer me some something like that, heh~”
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Inari + Tomomi

made by gimmick

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[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

They really did. Tomomi didn't mind. She had never had ambitions beyond being a shinobi. She grew up her whole life with it, with the expectations. In some ways, it might be wrong. To embrace a child with the culture from such a young age. The Yamanaka were close, kind, caring, but they also began to impose harsh realities on very small minds. Tomomi had known about torture since she could read, write. The job was hard, demanding. Often cruel. But also often worthwhile. Tomomi had met most of her longtime companions from the career.

"A puppeteer should never reveal their secrets," Tomomi jokes, winking. They'll tell her some, though. It's not as though Inari is a threat against Tomomi anyways. She's too loyal, and too busy working on learning new techniques of her own.

"I like making puppets based around mythology. I learned to puppeteer from some travelling street performers from Kaze no Kuni," she informed Inari. "Have you ever heard the story of Tamamo-no-Mae? It's one of my favorites. I'm working on developing a puppet based around her. Human on top, with a kitsune form hidden beneath." She was sure Umetaro would not be a fan of such a puppet. Or maybe he would be very interested.